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Screen Actors Guild Foundation and Broadway World have partnered for a filmed Conversations Q&A series to recognize and celebrate the vibrant theatre community in New York City and the actors who aspire to have a career on the stage and screen. Richard Ridge of 'Backstage with Richard Ridge' sat down with 'Wolf Hall: Parts I and II' lead cast members Nathaniel Parker (King Henry VIII), Ben Miles (Thomas Cromwell), and Lydia Leonard (Anne Boleyn) to talk about the play and their careers. (more...)

For 2015 Theater at Monmouth has planned a season of Magic, Murder, and Mayhem! Season 46 peeks into nature of reality and illusion, pokes fun at the foibles and fables of romances young and old, and will prick-up the hairs on the back of your neck. From Shakespeare to Stoppard and Coward to James, the 2015 Season is sure to be a perception-altering ride. (more...)

C.A.G.E. Theatre Company presents Michael Hagins's Civil War drama The Long Rail North, where friendship grows out of a most unlikely situation. Directed by Emily DeSena, The Long Rail North will be performed on Sunday, June 21st at 1pm, Thursday, June 25th at 4:30pm, Tuesday, June 30th at 7pm, Saturday, July 4th at 4pm, Wednesday, July 8th at 8pm and Saturday, July 11th at 5pm in the Downstairs Theatre at The Paradise Factory, located at 64 East 4th Street, as part of the 2015 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. (more...)

Original ensemble members, Michael Winther, Kimberly Grigsby, Shane Shanahan are joined by cellist, Peter Sachon as they reunite with Pulitzer prize-winning lyricist, Mark Campbell and many of the composers for a special one-night-only concert event, celebrating the ten year anniversary of Songs from an Unmade Bed, the critically acclaimed, theatrical song cycle originally produced off-Broadway by New York Theatre Workshop in 2005. (more...)

Theatre for a New Audience will present a live taping of the podcast Person Place Thing, hosted by Randy Cohen, with guests two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee Sarah Ruhl and Tony-nominated actor Jessica Hecht on Monday, June 8, at 7:00pm at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place. Tickets are $15. (more...)

The Chicago Tribune writes that PJ Paparelli, artistic director of Chicago's American Theater Company for seven years, died today, May 21, 2015 following a car accident while on vacation in Scotland earlier this week. He was 40. (more...)

The Theatre Project has announced the line-up of its 2015-16 season, which will include classics, contemporary, and experimental works at its downtown residency at the historic Players Theatre. Beginning in June, The Theatre Project's season celebrates the company's 5th Anniversary Off-Broadway and will feature six productions as well as musical performances and free public readings throughout the year. (more...)

The complete cast and creative team have been announced for The Old Globe production of William Shakespeare's delightful and romantic Twelfth Night. Rebecca Taichman, whose production of the time-traveling Time and the Conways fascinated audiences last April, is back to direct the first show of the 2015 Summer Shakespeare Festival. The Old Globe engagement will begin performances on June 21 and run through July 26, 2015, with opening night on Saturday, June 27 at 8:00 p.m., in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. (more...)

Tennessee Shakespeare Company (TSC), the Mid-South's professional classical theatre, in partnership with the University of Memphis' Department of Theatre & Dance presents a magical, family-friendly, Louisiana bayou-inspired production of A Midsummer Night's Dream on the U of M's Mainstage from June 4-21. (more...)

Bloodshed is par for the course during Tony Awards season, especially as it reaches its peak in the last handful of weeks leading up the big annual ceremony feting theatre's best, so today we take a look back at some of the absolute most brutal and tight Tony Award races for Best Musical in history. Although comparing a group of musicals - alike as dissimilar as they may be - may be an unfair proposition in practice, there is only one way a winner is decided when the Tony Awards rolls around and it unfortunately always finds fan favorites, critical darlings and a few commercial hits vying for top honors. There can only be one Best Musical - well, except for 1960 when there were actually two mainstage entertainments given the prize; THE SOUND OF MUSIC and FIORELLO, with no less than GYPSY ending up an also-ran. Who will claim the trophy on June 7? Tune in then to see! (more...)

Original ensemble members, Michael Winther, Kimberly Grigsby, Shane Shanahan are joined by cellist, Peter Sachon as they reunite with Pulitzer prize-winning lyricist, Mark Campbell and many of the composers for a special one-night-only concert event, celebrating the ten year anniversary of Songs from an Unmade Bed, the critically acclaimed, theatrical song cycle originally produced off-Broadway by New York Theatre Workshop in 2005. (more...)

Co-founders John Stoops and Tim Evans proudly announce the third season of the Three Oaks Theater Festival, an annual summer event that brings limited-engagement runs of highly- acclaimed, professional productions to audiences in Harbor Country, Michigan. This season will be performed at the Acorn Theater with a staged reading to take place at the Vickers Theatre. (more...)

Alex Turner Productions today announces the full cast for the UK premiere of Tennessee Williams' One Arm adapted for the stage by Moises Kaufman. Josh Seymour directs Joe Jameson (The Divinity Student), Georgia Kerr (The Girl in the French Quarter), Peter Hannah (The Guard), James Tucker (Lester) and Tom Varey (Ollie Olsen). The company members play multiple roles around the central character of Ollie Olsen - characters weaving through the complex tapestry of his life. The production opens at Southwark Playhouse on 12 June, with previews from 10 June, and runs until 4 July. (more...)

The Utah Shakespeare Festival will be celebrating our Armed Forces on Saturday, July 4 by offering four free tickets for military personnel and their families to the opening performance of South Pacific at 2 p.m. The Festival appreciates the sacrifices of the men and women who serve and wants to recognize their dedication and commitment to this country. (more...)

Just weeks ago, the 2015 Tony nominees gathered to meet the press and BroadwayWorld was on hand for the big day. Throughout the month, we will continue our Tonys coverage by bringing you exclusive photos by acclaimed photographer Walter McBride! Below, meet Ben Miles, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play nominee for Wolf Hall: Parts 1 & 2. (more...)

The 69th Annual Tony Awards are this Sunday June 7th at 8/9c hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming. It's the biggest award show of the Broadway season and it closes out a long award season for Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals and plays. We can't help but wonder what chances this year's Best Musical and Best Play nominees have of taking home the ultimate prize. (more...)

The Drilling Company's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot (www.shakespeareintheparkinglot.com) has found a new home in the Parking Lot behind The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center (CSV), 114 Norfolk Street between Delancey and Rivington Streets. The troupe will kick off the third decade of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot there July 9 to 26 with 'As You Like It,' directed by Artistic Director Hamilton Clancy. The production will offer delightful lessons of love, starting off in a stately English Victorian world and moving into a Steampunk paradise when the scene shifts from a conventional Duchy to the mythical Forest of Arden. (more...)

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is proud to announce the cast of Smokey Joe's Cafe, playing July 14 - 19 for TUTS' 48th consecutive year of offering FREE musical theatre at Miller Outdoor Theatre. (more...)

Macbeth and Banquo reminded director Jesse Ontiveros of Fidel and Che, and that was the genesis for his idea to set 'Macbeth' in a banana republic for the Drilling Company's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, in a production to be presented July 30 to August 15 in the parking lot at 114 Norfolk Street (between Delancey and Rivington Streets), behind The Clemente. (more...)

In May the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awarded 1,023 grants totaling $74,326,900 to nonprofit arts organizations in all 50 states plus five U.S. jurisdictions. From that, twelve Utah groups received over $1 million in funding with the Utah Shakespeare Festival receiving $35,000 for its production of William Shakespeare's Henry IV Part Two as part of the larger History Cycle initiative. (more...)

Claire Shannon Kelly of New Canaan has been named artistic director of Shakespeare on the Sound which concluded its 20th season in Rowayton's Pinkney Park June 28 with 16-night run of "All's Well That Ends Well." (more...)

'If you build it they will come. If you want diversity in the theatre, you have to build that diversity from the ground up. You can't just expect it to happen.' Actor Kingsley Leggs is speaking with quiet intensity about his passion for theatre, music, and dance and his belief that theatre must not only please, but also educate and empower its audiences. These are beliefs he has honed in a long career which has taken him from his native St. Louis to Broadway, regional theatre, and television.
As he recounts his story, he is taking a break on what he calls 'a three show day' at Maine State Music Theatre, where he is in the last week of performances of The Full Monty and set to open June 25th in Sister Act. He has just finished the morning rehearsal and will soon head over to the theatre for a matinee and evening show. For all the obvious demands of this schedule, he appears relaxed and animated. He tells the story of how he came to be in Brunswick this summer: (more...)

The complete cast and creative team have been announced for The Old Globe's presentation of Kiss Me, Kate, the classic musical comedy featuring a book by Sam and Bella Spewack and an iconic score by Cole Porter. (more...)

We are yet another day closer to the biggest night on every theatre-lover's calendar- the 69th Annual Tony Awards, which will be co-hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming on Sunday, June 7 (8PM on CBS). Earlier this month, the 2015 Tony nominees gathered to meet the press and BroadwayWorld was on hand for the big day. Below, we bring you an exclusive interview with Ben Miles, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play nominee for Wolf Hall: Parts 1 & 2. (more...)

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: Jesse Eisenberg returns to the stage, ON YOUR FEET! starts up in the Windy City and more! (more...)

Eisa Davis, Gabriel Ebert, Nikki M. James, Joseph Keckler, Chris Sarandon, and Or Matias, on piano, lead LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater production of PRELUDES, a new musical by Dave Malloy, inspired by the music of Sergei Rachmaninov, developed with and directed by Rachel Chavkin. PRELUDES, a world premiere and the first musical to be produced by LCT3 in the Claire Tow Theater, began performances on May 23 and opens tonight, June 15, running through Sunday, July 19 at the Claire Tow Theater (150 West 65th Street). (more...)

Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' exquisitely pleads for similar and neighboring peoples to stop killing each other for reasons they no longer remember. In The Drilling Company's production for Bryant Park Shakespeare, to be presented July 17 to August 2, the play will be set in a modern city which is divided by wealth and class. Directed by David Marantz, it aims to send a clear message about the violence that can result from social division and corporate greed. (more...)

BroadwayWorld has decided to round up the best loser's for Best Musical and you will be surprised with some of the losers. Click through the videos below and watch some of Broadway's most iconic musicals that didn't take home the Tony Award for Best Musical. (more...)

The complete cast and creative team have been announced for The Comedy of Errors as The Old Globe's 2015 Summer Shakespeare Festival continues the Globe's 80th Anniversary festivities as part of the Balboa Park Centennial Celebration. (more...)

England's foremost playwright is suspiciously murdered days before he is to be tried for treason. And an unknown actor suddenly becomes England's star playwright virtually overnight. Murder, mystery and manhunts in 1593.
How could Christopher Marlowe, a known spy and England's foremost playwright, be suspiciously murdered and quickly buried in an unmarked grave just days before he was to be tried for treason? How could William Shakespeare, an unknown actor who 'held horses for the gentry while they watched the plays,' become England's star playwright virtually overnight?
'The Shakespeare Conspiracy' is a comedy-thriller that intertwines the two mysteries. It's a wild ride through the gay London theatre world as the city fights the black plague, the hunt for Catholics, and the questions about Marlowe's murder.
As Marlowe and his sponsor/lover, Sir Thomas Walsingham realize that the sentence for heresy is always death by being 'drawn and quartered.' So they fake Marlowe's murder and arrange for an unknown actor to front the new works by Marlowe.
Quickly the crown becomes suspicious of Marlowe's mysterious murder and the similarities of his works with those of Shakespeare's. (There are actually more than 100 identical or similar lines in the works of the two authors.)
A manhunt begins with Marlowe being chased from city after city in Italy. He flees the Venetian city just as he finishes 'The Merchant of Venice' and 'Othello.' He runs from Padua as he writes 'The Taming of the Shrew' and he must leave Verona after a close call while he tries to finish 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Two Gentlemen of Verona.' The chase continues to Rome and Sicily where Marlowe in finally cornered.
Meanwhile back in London, Shakespeare is trying to hide from the investigations of Constable Maunder and defend his writing of plays he's never read. And the homoerotic references in the recent works plague Shakespeare with his drinking buddies, his concubines and his wife. The whole chase culminates in a final confrontation of excitement and murder.
All the historical facts presented in the book are accurate except for one date (which is explained in the preface). The last third of the book is a supplement verifying the facts in the novel.
'The Shakespeare Conspiracy' is available in both print and ebook formats.
Book Details:
'The Shakespeare Conspiracy'
By Ted Bacino
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1452050669 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1452050652 (hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1452050676 (ebook)
ASIN: B009CMFXUE
Pages: 288
Genre: Historical Comedy-Drama
About The Author:
Ted Bacino has had a wild career as a newspaper reporter, high school and college educator, executive-assistant Secretary of State in Illinois, and vice-president of a chain of banks. He has also directed more than 100 musicals for three colleges, a dinner-theater, and Starlight Theater. As a writer he has lived in Germany, London, Venice, and Paris. He is now 82 years old and resides in Palm Springs, CA. He has a BA and MA from Northern Illinois University and a KSG from Harvard.
For review copies, author interviews, or more information please contact:
Ted Bacino
Email: TBacino@AOL.com
Website: http://www.TheShakespeareConspiracy.com
PR by BookBuzz.net (more...)

The John W. Engeman Theater announces the cast and creative team for THE COTTAGE. THE COTTAGE is brought to you by the Engeman official Main Stage Sponsor - North Shore LIJ Health System, and Show Sponsor - Lewis Johs Avallones Aviles, LLP Counsellors at Law. Performances begin on Thursday, July 23, 2015 at 8:00pm and run through September 6, 2015. (more...)

Actors of the Utah Shakespeare Festival come together once again to put on weekly Cabarets as part of REACH (Really Eager Actors Crying Hire) fundraising efforts. These company members sing, dance and perform to raise money to bring artistic directors and casting agents from across the country to Cedar City to audition Festival actors for upcoming jobs. (more...)

BroadwayWorld has confirmed that Javier Muñoz will star as Alexander Hamilton, 'the ten-dollar Founding Father without a father,' once a week in the Broadway production of Hamilton. Hamilton will begin previews at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (226 W. 46 St.) on July 13 prior to an official opening night on August 6. (more...)

In May of 2014, Norm Lewis made history as the first African American Phantom in 'The Phantom of the Opera' on Broadway. This summer, on August 7 & 8 at 7:00 PM, he makes his debut in the critically acclaimed Broadway @ The Art House concert series in Provincetown, MA, hosted by SiriusXM star Seth Rudetsky at the piano. What differentiates this concert series from any other is the seamless mix of intimate, funny and revealing behind-the-scenes stories from Broadway's biggest stars and their stellar singing of musical theatre repertoire. For tickets and information visit www.ptownarthouse.com or call 800-838-3006. (more...)

Macbeth and Banquo reminded director Jesse Ontiveros of Fidel and Che, and that was the genesis for his idea to set 'Macbeth' in a banana republic for the Drilling Company's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, in a production to be presented today, July 30, to August 15 in the parking lot at 114 Norfolk Street (between Delancey and Rivington Streets), behind The Clemente. (more...)

This October, Nuffield's Director Samuel Hodges, now in his second year leading the company, will direct a production of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. The production marks Hodges' directorial debut with Nuffield, which will feature design by Ultz (Olivier Award winner, Jerusalem, Royal Court). (more...)

RUTHLESS! The Musical's leading man, Peter Land, collapsed onstage at the top of the second act on Friday evening, July 17th. EMT's arrived on the scene and Mr. Land was transported to the hospital where he received emergency surgery for a tear in the aorta. His recovery is going extremely well and he was even discharged from the hospital earlier this week. Paul Pecorino has assumed the role of Sylvia St. Croix and Mr. Land hopes to return to the show in the near future. Author Joel Paley bravely filled in for several performances in the week following the accident (triumphantly, according to all eyewitnesses). (more...)

Jeffrey Harmon Smith, an escapee from the legal profession, brings his inimitable style to songs from the theatre and pop music scenes. JEFFREY HARMON SMITH! 'AUDITION SONGS' is set for The Duplex Cabaret Theater, located at 61 Christopher Street (at the corner of 7th Avenue) on Thursday August 6th, 7:00PM. (more...)

BroadwayWorld has learned that English actor/director Robin Phillips has died. Best known as a driving force behind the revitalization of Ontario's Stratford Festival in the 1970s, Phillips passed away yesterday, July 25, following a prolonged illness. He was 73. (more...)

59E59 Theaters will welcome The Acting Company to the 2015/2016 5A Season with the US premiere of DESIRE An Evening of Plays Based on Six Stories by Tennessee Williams. Directed by Michael Wilson, DESIRE features new plays written by John Guare, Beth Henley, Marcus Gardley, Rebecca Gilman, David Grimm and Elizabeth Egloff. DESIRE begins performances on Wednesday, September 2 for a limited engagement through Sunday, October 11. Opening Night is Thursday, September 10 at 7 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7 PM; Friday at 8 PM; Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM; Sunday at 3 PM. Single tickets are $70 ($49 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or visit www.59e59.org. (more...)

The Utah Shakespeare Festival says a fond farewell to the historic Adams Shakespearean Theatre at the end of this summer. Next season, 2016, will usher in a whole new audience experience at the Festival with the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center of the Arts and the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre. However, before the lights dim forever in the Adams Theatre, the Festival has planned celebrative activities throughout the season. Patrons can come and experience all the magic the Adams has to offer as well as say goodbye. (more...)

Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' exquisitely pleads for similar and neighboring peoples to stop killing each other for reasons they no longer remember. In The Drilling Company's production for Bryant Park Shakespeare, presented today, July 17, to August 2, the play will be set in a modern city which is divided by wealth and class. (more...)

Playwright John Guare recently met with the Press to discuss the Barrington Stage Company production of his adaptation of the classic American comedy HIS GIRL FRIDAY. Julianne Boyd, the artistic director of BSC will also be directing the production which will be on Barrington Stage's Boyd-Quinson Mainstage from Aug 6-30. Opening night is Wednesday, Aug 12. Director Julianne Boyd and actors Christopher Innvar and Jane Pfitsch joined Mr. Guare for the Press Conference in which they all took questions. (more...)

Barrington Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director Tristan Wilson, presents the American screwball comedy His Girl Friday, John Guare's adaptation of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's original play The Front Page and the screen version His Girl Friday, from August 6-30 at Barrington Stage's Boyd-Quinson Mainstage. Opening night is Wednesday, August 12 at 7pm. (more...)